'Gunshots & Screaming at Capitol': Onion Tweets Spark Panic

The Onion: #CongressHostage Tweets Taken Too Seriously

It's not unusual for readers to mistake The Onion's stories for actual news stories, which is an endless source of entertainment for those who can parse satire from fiction. However, one of the Onion's tweets from this morning seemed, well, not satirical at all.

Earlier today, The Onion tweeted, "BREAKING: Witnesses reporting screams and gunfire heard inside Capitol building."

Some believed that The Onion was actually reporting the news, while others presumed that the satire paper had been hacked, either by Script Kiddies or some other group. The latter would be more likely, in light of other recent hacks.

Photos

The Onion: #congresshostage Twitter Story

see larger image

uploaded by NowPublic Staff

However, neither was the case. Turns out that The Onion was tweeting a multi-part series about Congressmen holding schoolchildren hostage at the Capitol Building. Yes, it's satire. No, there is not a real-life hostage crisis at the US Capitol Building.

We haven't yet seen any hand-wringing about "yelling fire in a crowded theater", but we expect to shortly. Update: okay, here we go: US Capitol Police say they will "investigate the reporting" of the fictional Capitol hostage crisis. Even though it wasn't reporting. It was satire; most of the tweets have a handy link so that those so inclined can RTFA.

As The Onion said, "This is satire. This is how it works." Still, considering how gullible people are regarding Onion stories, should they have foreseen this sort of reaction, especially considering the neutral tone of the first tweet?